The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-06-01
"The Sunny South "---NO. 4.

Mr.. Editor:-I promised to speak about
agriculture, ETC., and so | will give my i'm
pressions, based more on what / saw than
on personal information given me. AS |
passed over the Blue Ridge on the 10th of
May and came in sight of the Allegheny
range and the intervening country the eye
had some very extended views, and there
was seen on the far distant hillsides the
ripening wheat and rye, and not long after
could be seen thousands of miniature stalks
of this Graded grain, much of which could
have been seen still as late as our leaving
august ~, reasons for which were not lack
ing in such rainy weather as had prevailed.
1t had never become dry enough to thresh,
and the threshers were not in full supply, |
judged. Some of this grain was spoiled
with mildew, and some grown or sprouting
All the same, it finds its way to the little
country mill of our grandfathers, and comes
to the table as bread exceedingly light and
white, because of excessive yeast, and in hot
cakes for tea, which one northern writer
said were only " fit to throw at and break
the windows" The soil on these hillsides
and in the valleys seems to be rich, and
bears excellent sweet grass and clover, on
which the cows thrive and furnish rich milk.
Wheat, rye, oats, and barley all grow
in luxuriance on these hilsides, many
of which are more steep than the roofs
of our square-roof houses The soil of
clay and sand does not wash as our north
ern gravel or loam and besides, the rain
storm runs off into the creeks very rapidly.
The past season was bad for corn and to-
bacco, being too wet, and one was reminded
of the story of the clergyman passing field
where a small boy was hoeing the one stalk
to each hill, saying to the boy, i" Your corn
is rather small, is it not?' Yes" was the
quick reply. " Dad planted the small kind
this year" But it is without question that
this whole region have been writing about
is rich in quality for growing any kind
of grain, vegetables, fruit and grasses
with no great outlay in cultivation; but en-
terprise is lacking, and then market for
surplus. Tobacco is now the great staple,
and some of the finest grades of leaf for
wrappers grown anywhere is found here.
| did not see many " cattle on thousand
hills yet was told they did raise some of
the finest beef that could be found, but it
did not find market here, that know. The
small black Berkshire pig running about (out-
side the city limits) and getting his living as
best he can, furnishes the smoked bacon OF
the South, and this is dry salted. No pork
| is picked or sailed as we do it in this coun-
| try. Fruit like apples, pears, peaches, etc,
would thrive here but would not be early
| in this high altitude, but the cultivation is
very limited. Strawberries are wild but
| plentiful. Few or none are cultivated in
| private gardens and any such come there
| from the warmer south by railroad, and
! few at that, for our Boston and New York
markets are much better for early fruit from
Florida than this small demand, and so few
are seen until later on. OF manufactures in
Asheville little can be said There is a ma
chine-shop, and a furniture factory was in
process of building several tobacco manufac
tories and warehouses are doing quite
business; undergrad and door, sash and
blind shop, and these all constitute the
principal productive industries. Stores are
plenty and well filed, many carrying large
stocks and doing wholesale trade with the
which Josh Billings used to write.
l. w. JONES.